To end logjam, Manipur violence should be discussed under rule 167 in Rajya Sabha: Former secretary general of Lok Sabha

“The opposition and the ruling party should sit together and in fact, there is a mechanism for solving such differences by a Business Advisory Committee, which is presided over by a chairman. In the Rajya Sabha, it is the Vice-President and in the Lok Sabha, it is the Speaker, who presides over the Advisory Committee. And leaders of all the political parties represent the committee,” Achary told ETV Bharat's Gautam Debroy in an exclusive interview.

New Delhi:As the logjam over a discussion on Manipur violence continued in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, renowned constitutional expert and former Secretary General of Lok Sabha PDT Achary said that both the ruling and opposition parties should discuss the matter under rule 167 in the Rajya Sabha and resolve the crisis. “The opposition and the ruling party should sit together and in fact, there is a mechanism for solving such differences by a Business Advisory Committee, which is presided over by a chairman. In the Rajya Sabha, it is the Vice-President and in the Lok Sabha, it is the Speaker, who presides over the Advisory Committee. And leaders of all the political parties represent the committee,” Achary told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview.

“Their collective discussion is very much necessary to run the House. And for this it is necessary to finalise under which rule discussion will take place,” said Achary. The opposition has been demanding the suspension of all business and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a suo motu statement, followed by a discussion under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha whereas the government has agreed to the discussion under Rule 176 in the Rajya Sabha for a short duration discussion.

“Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha deals with the suspension of a rule. You have the same Rule 388 in the Lok Sabha. Both these rules are identical. The purpose of this rule is to temporarily suspend a particular rule in the rule book,” he said. Referring to Rule 167, Acharya said that under Rule 167 a motion can be moved, and further a discussion can also be held and at the end of the discussion, there will be a voting.

“In fact, the opposition should insist on that. Since there is no rule equivalent to the adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, they should insist on a discussion on a motion under 167. Under 167 an MP can give a notice for a motion and if it is admitted by the House then there will be a discussion and at the end of the discussion the minister will give a reply and the mover of the motion will have a right to reply and at the end of the day there will be voting in the House,” informed Achary.

In my opinion, this is not a proper rule to be invoked for a discussion. “Its (Rule 267) purpose is limited to suspending a particular rule, which comes in the way of a particular business in the House,” he said.

“In fact, there is no rule in the Rajya Sabha rule book, under which the members can raise an issue, which is so serious and urgent and they want to express their displeasure on that except Rule 167 that entails a motion on a matter of public importance,” he said. He further stated that in order to discuss a matter, which is very urgent, like the Manipur issue, “there is actually no rule in the Rajya Sabha rule book, which enables them to do that.”

That is why the opposition has been asking for this particular Rule 267. “That rule is meant for suspending a particular rule only,” he stated. The government has agreed to have a short-duration discussion. “In short duration discussion, the issue will be discussed and the matter will be over without any voting. Suppose the opposition wants to take a vote on the issue, that is not possible under Rule 176. There is no motion as such, if there is a motion there will be voting,” stated Acharya.

Achary, who was the former Secretary General of the 14th Lok Sabha and 15th Lok Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariat said that in his view Rule 267 is not the right rule to be invoked on the Manipur issue.

“They would in fact give a motion under Rule 167. The government does not want a discussion with voting, which is why they are insisting on short-duration discussions. The government should agree to a discussion under Rule 167 so that there is a discussion over a motion and voting takes place and that is the way to break a logjam,” he said.